Views of Godrevy are said to have inspired a Virginia Woolf novel

Lighthouse authority Trinity House plans to switch off Godrevy light on the edge of St Ives Bay by 2010.

It has completed a consultation over several sites and says it received a large response about Godrevy.

Those who have raised concerns include local fishermen's societies, the local harbour master and former Trinity House pilots themselves.

The octagonal white tower at Godrevy marks a reef called the Stones and has been in service since 1859. It was automated in 1939.

Fishermen say electronic navigation cannot be the only source of taking bearings for vessels approaching the coast.

The historic lighthouse inspired novelist Virginia Woolf to write her most famous work. Her novel "To The Lighthouse" is said to have drawn on memories of her childhood holidays at St Ives and the view of Godrevy Island and its beacon.

A spokesman for Trinity House has told the BBC News it will make a decision by the middle of May. It has already said if the switch-off took place, the Grade II listed lighthouse would remain intact.